East Garden of the Imperial Palace

Tenshudai Donjon

Stone Doesn't Burn Started in 1607 during the reign of Shogun Hidetada and finished in 1638 during the reign of Shogun Iemitsu, this donjon (fortified tower) of the Edo castle was the tallest ever built in Japan. At its completion, it stood 5 stories tall on the outside (6 stories on the inside). However, it burned down in 1657 and was never rebuilt. The base still remains and this is a section of one of the walls, I liked the play of the dark and light stones.

Life Takes Hold Three photographers take pictures of the remaining base of the donjon (and each other). What really struck me was the tree growing at the top of the stone base. I've always been amazed at how life can take hold in such precarious places, from places as beautiful as the wind-swept ridges of the Olympic mountains to places as benign as the stopped-up downspouts on my house.

The Gardens

One Tree I missed the full bloom of the cherry trees by a few days. I had to return from my business trip so I couldn't stay any longer, but this cherry tree made sure I'd get to see at least one tree in full bloom. You can see a photographer setting up his camera and tripod in front of the trees. I was surprised to see how many of Tokyo's citizens were out photographing the blooms, many with compact digicams, many with larger SLR's.

A Moment of Solitude The gardens are a quiet and comforting oasis amidst the bustle of busy Tokyo. I ended up spending all day here, I had only planned to spend a few hours but I was charmed by the beauty of the place and stayed until the end of the day.

One Missing I'm not sure what kind of plant this is, but I found its flowers to have a very subtle beauty. I liked the way that there is nearly a perfect grid of 4 flowers, but with the lower right grid empty. With the splendor of the cherry blossoms in full bloom just a few days away, it would have been easy to overlook such a little plant growing in a little garden, but it was my favorite flower picture from the trip.

Old Meets New

I was struck by the juxtaposition of the ancient stone structures with modern Tokyo that edges the Garden on all sides.

People in the Garden

Even if most of the cherry trees were not yet in bloom, the citizens of Tokyo seemed to enjoy the park each in their own way, such as enjoying a picnic with their family or painting one of the cherry trees that was in bloom.